The Tank - An Iconic Invention Of World War One
Select a military technology from any war. Discuss why that technology was important in fighting that war, and why it met , or failed to meet, expectations
The tank was one of the iconic inventions of the First World War, which was credited with victory over Germany, and one which would give Germany numerous victories in the early days of ww2. Unfortunately this interpretation is a post – Second World War construct, embodying both myth-making and wishful thinking. The first tanks were not for the deep penetration attacks of World War 2, nor the great battles such as Kursk. They were seen as an aid to breaking into the German front line to facilitate an Infantry advance which would then “break through to victory”.
The idea of armoured protection for an army was not new – indeed the Roman Legions used a formation known as a “Testudo” (Tortoise) holding interlocking shields overhead and to the sides, protecting the infantry from missiles and spear thrusts. In the late Roman and Byzantine heavily armoured horse troops, known as Cataphracts provided a hard hitting force. Later the central European Hussites, under the leadership of the blind General John Zizka built armoured wagons which they would circle in the manner beloved of Hollywood westerns to form “Panzerwagen Laagers” – the word “Panzer” meaning armoured. Even the idea of an armoured and armed self propelled machine had been around for several years before WW1, but precisely what they would be used for would be was a matter of debate. Authors such as H.G.Wells believed that giant Land ships would prowl the battlefield in the manner of the new Dreadnoughts which were coming into service were to dominate the seas. This concept was to dominate the thinking of the early backers such as First Lord of the Admiralty Mr Winston Churchill, who had seen the usefulness of armoured cars of the Naval Division in the very early mobile phase of WW1. These armoured cars, carrying a machine gun and plentiful supplies...
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